Fire-paramedic service wants to fly its own drone
Unmanned aerial vehicle could assist in search and rescue operations, other emergencies
The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service wants to buy an unmanned aerial vehicle to assist with emergency operations.
The department is asking the city for $32,000 to purchase a drone, a thermal imaging camera and training for its staff to deploy the unmanned aircraft.
The vehicles may be used when the fire-paramedic service conducts water rescues, fire-scene assessments and reconnaissance, search and rescue operations, flood operations, wildfire monitoring, incident analysis and during hazardous-material calls, says a report from the fire-paramedic service to council's innovation committee.
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"The implementation of a UAV program would demonstrate the City of Winnipeg's commitment to ongoing improvement and the use of available technology to improve public safety and facilitate efficient use of taxpayer-provided funds," the fire-paramedic service writes.
The innovation committee will consider the report on Tuesday.